When I think about Pace Layers, I think about how they help me as an Interaction Design student understand why different parts of my project might move at different speeds. Some decisions change really easily with little discussion, and some must stay stable. Understanding pace layers basically gives me a mental model for managing my own design process.
When I think about the fast layers, or the parts we designers iterate constantly, I think about fashion/commerce translating to UI, visuals, and interaction tweaks. The sort of “surface-level” stuff you think of when you think of Interaction Design as a field. Color palettes, typography, micro-interactions, and general interface trends that I want to test are all examples of things that I could change at almost any point because these are more superficial and move fast. These layers shift quickly, and my workflow reflects that. For example, I could be making daily or weekly iterations with these features varying. This layer is where I can anticipate speedy experimentation and responsiveness. Because I understand this idea, it’s the safe layer to experiment in because mistakes here are cheap.
Moving on to the middle layers, this is where we can expect the structural decisions to move much slowly, if at all. Infrastructure/Governance here is best applied to our IA, flows, logic, and major components of the project. At this layer, I can imagine the app’s navigation, user flows, major screens, and other rules to be present. In my experience, because these are so important to the project as a whole and affect everything else, it often takes me the longest to get right. Once I commit to a specific IA, for example, multiple screens are sure to be affected. Understanding what comes with this layer allows me to set aside enough time and mental preparation to get all the features involved in this done well.
Lastly, the slow layers can be best understood at the deep principles I’ll learn and hold close as I work as a designer. So the culture/nature layer could best be imagined as the human factors, accessibility, and ethics involved in my work. This layer can include mental models, usability heuristics, cognitive load, and more. This rarely ever changes quickly and becomes the foundation of my practice. Understanding that this layer is extremely important and impactful for the rest of my project is crucial so as not to overlook it. Designers must know that good design isn’t about following trends, but about understanding people. The more we can understand that this layer is a foundational, crucial one allows us to better anchor our design decisions.
As an interaction design student, pace layers help me understand which parts of my project I can change quickly on a dime, which parts need more stability, and which ones are foundational principles that should stay consistent across every design choice I make.